BRACKNELL — More than three decades after the tragic death of seven-year-old schoolgirl Stacey Queripel, her sister is continuing a tireless campaign to keep the cold case alive and bring the killer to justice. The plea comes 33 years after the young girl vanished from her Berkshire home, only to be found dead hours later in nearby woodland—a mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
A Heartbreaking Discovery and an Unmet Sibling
On January 24, 1993, Stacey Queripel seemingly vanished from her family residence in Bracknell. Just two hours after her mother, Gilliane, reported her missing to local authorities, a search team discovered the schoolgirl’s body in a patch of nearby woods.
The tragedy was compounded for her older sister, Vickie Robertson, who only discovered Stacey’s existence through the media coverage surrounding the murder. Then aged 13, Robertson recalled seeing a solemn newspaper headline asking “Why did she die?” accompanied by a smiling portrait of a young girl she instantly recognized as her sister.
Due to a deeply troubled family history, the two siblings had never been permitted to meet. Robertson had been placed up for adoption at the age of three, separating her from her biological family. The sudden murder abruptly snatched away any future opportunity for the sisters to connect.
A Tireless Campaign Against Domestic Violence and Injustice
Now a prominent domestic violence charity founder, Robertson has spent the last two decades actively campaigning to uncover the truth behind Stacey’s death and to ensure the case is not forgotten by the public or law enforcement.
“Stacey’s name deserves to be kept alive. That’s my driving force,” Robertson told Metro. “Her killer has had years of freedom she didn’t get.”
Reflecting on her early childhood before being adopted, Robertson recalled snapshots of the highly volatile and abusive environment into which she and her sister were born.
“There was ongoing domestic violence and my stepdad was eventually imprisoned,” she explained. “I may not remember everything, but I still carry the physical and invisible scars.”
Despite the passage of 33 years, Robertson remains resolute in her quest for answers, urging anyone with information regarding the January 1993 abduction and murder to come forward to help close Bracknell’s longest-running unsolved child murder case.
Her birth mother went on to have two more children and would occasionally send pictures of them to Vickie throughout the years via her adoptive family. ‘I desperately hoped one day I would meet them. I have a picture of Stacey holding a photo of me,’ she remembers.
When Vickie discovered her sister’s photo on the front page of the newspaper, she ‘immediately knew who it was’.
‘I told my [adoptive] mum, who called social services,’ recalls Vickie. ‘The police came to confirm the news. They told me it wasn’t accidental – my sister had been murdered.’
As the details of her death unfolded, it transpired that Stacey had been strangled by her plastic necklace. Home Office pathologist, Dr Richard Shepherd, concluded that she had likely been killed elsewhere before leaving in the woodland, as her shoes were clean despite the muddy undergrowth.
Their mother, Gilliane, was arrested but released without charge.
An inquest later recorded the little girl’s death as unlawful killing – but due to no clear evidence, no one has ever been charged for her death, despite freshpolice appeals.
Grappling with a hurricane of conflicting emotions, Stacey’s death took its toll on Vickie, as the teenager realised she would never experience the reunion she had dreamt of. ‘It’s the news that you hope isn’t true. Then realisation hits: I clung to the dream of connecting with my family – it kept me going,’ she explains.
‘When it was whipped away I felt grief for a life that I’ll never have. I also felt guilty for not being able to protect her. Why wasn’t it me instead of Stacey?
‘Seeing your birth mum arrested and on the national news was incredibly isolating – I felt like I was living in a zombie state,’ adds Vickie. ‘It was a lot to bear, and as a result I even attempted to take my life as a teenager.
‘I wanted to be reunited with my sister and thought I didn’t deserve to be here.’
As Vickie reached adulthood, she found herself in a dangerous cycle of domestic abuse, just as she had experienced as a child.
After giving birth to her eldest child in 2008, Vickie went on to become entangled in a 13 year abusive relationship, in which she had her second child. The victim of domineering behaviour, she was forbidden from even using the bathroom or changing sanitary pads after the birth, in case the baby needed her.
When she was 34 weeks pregnant with her third baby in 2009, Vickie was physically attacked in front of one of her children, after she took too long to do the food shopping. ‘Hearing my daughter’s scream will haunt me forever,’ she admits. ‘She saved my life. Despite the horrific assault, the most degrading part was him spitting in my face. I felt less than human’.
Her partner was eventually convicted of multiple offences, including assault by beating, stalking, harassment and breach of non-molestation order.
‘The life I had escaped as a child had now become my normal. It was a rollercoaster of emotions,’ she remembers. ‘The lowest point was not knowing myself anymore. Looking back, I feel angry that I missed much of my kids’ childhood because I was consumed with keeping everyone safe.’
It was after she saw the horrifying images of drowned refugee toddler Alan Kurdi in 2015, that Vickie found the strength to change her life. ‘I had a child of a similar age and was deeply moved. I started supporting refugees, which infuriated my partner at the time. But helping people brought me so much happiness – I think that was my turning point.’
Helping others spurred Vickie to set up her own domestic violence support charity called, Kaleidoscopic. ‘I want to help people to thrive, not just survive,’ she explains.
Initially established as a ‘Coffee, Cake and Craft’ support group, the charity now delivers sessions to over 10 sites each month, including a specialised playgroup that allows mums to connect with others who have faced similar situations. ‘I get quite emotional thinking about it. I’ve created the services I never had when I escaped,’ she says.
Police Appeal for Hidden Information
The push for answers gained renewed momentum after the case was reopened with the political backing of Bracknell MP James Sunderland. Detectives are now actively appealing to individuals who may have harbored secrets or suspicions for more than 30 years to finally step forward.
Peter Beirne, head of the major crime investigation review team for the force, issued a direct plea regarding the unsolved murder:
“I believe there are people who have information or suspicions about Stacey’s murder, but for whatever reason have yet to inform the police. The time has come to provide that information. My team will never stop investigating cold case murders.”
The Race Against Time and the Push for ‘Stacey’s Law’
However, the three-decade delay has severely complicated the investigation. Experts note that two major issues now shroud Stacey’s case: the degradation of physical evidence—some of which can no longer be scientifically tested—and the natural erosion of witness testimony and memory validity over time.
It is these structural failures that have driven Stacey’s sister, Vickie Robertson, to lobby the government for systemic reform. She is calling for the implementation of Stacey’s Law, a legislative framework that would mandate a comprehensive review of all serious cold cases within 5 to 10 years of the crime.
“Some regions already do this, why not all? Justice shouldn’t rely on a postcode lottery,” Robertson argued, pointing out the vast discrepancies in how different regional police forces handle long-term unsolved crimes.
As Bracknell’s longest-running unsolved child murder continues to puzzle detectives, Robertson remains determined to turn her personal tragedy into a lasting legal legacy for other grieving families.
“If we can change the system for others, that’s for Stacey,” Robertson said. “No one should have to wait 33 years for justice.”
